1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to sporting goods and more particularly to a new and novel configuration of a golf sand wedge.
2. Description of the Related Art
In golf, there is utilized a plurality of different clubs. Typically, the clubs include a plurality of xe2x80x9cwoodsxe2x80x9d and a plurality of xe2x80x9cironsxe2x80x9d. Each xe2x80x9cironxe2x80x9d has a different number and has a different inclined face. The most vertical the faced club is the lowest number xe2x80x9cironxe2x80x9d which would be a one xe2x80x9cironxe2x80x9d, and the most inclined face would be in a wedge which would have the highest number which is usually number ten. However, currently in golf there is not utilized just a single wedge but most players play with a plurality of different wedges. There is a pitching wedge which is designed to propel the ball between one-hundred and one-hundred forty yards. There is a sand wedge which is designed to propel the ball eighty to ninety yards when the sand wedge is used with a full swing with the golf ball located on the fairway (short grass). There is also available a sixty-degree wedge which is designed for shorter distances, such as up to about seventy yards.
It has been more than seventy years since Gene Sarazen modified a pitching wedge and produced the sand wedge that is played today. Mr. Sarazen added loft, weight and bounce to a pitching wedge which resulted in the production of the sand wedge. Over the last seventy years, most golf clubs have gone through dramatic changes that provide improved strike-ability, distance and direction. However, prior to the present invention, the sand wedge has gone through very little modification.
The sand wedge continues to perform as it always has for the last seventy years. It is the club that is used for the toughest shot, that is to remove a ball from a sand bunker, and it is the shot that adds the most strokes to a golf game. Many things have been tried to enhance the performance of sand wedges including perimeter weighting. Perimeter weighting is great for the rest of the irons within ones golf bag, but it tends to impede the performance of a sand wedge. The only reason it can be seen for a sand wedge to have perimeter weighting is so that the sand wedge would look in appearance like the rest of the clubs.
All sand wedges that are currently in use, prior to the present invention, have the weighting of the head of the club front loaded which creates a large frontal area at the sole of the front face of the club. This front loaded weighting gives the player a feeling of pushing and forcing the ball through the sand. This is not the desirable feeling that one should have when swinging of a sand wedge within a sand bunker. The golfer should have the feeling of pulling the shot through the sand rather than pushing it. For a golfer to even hope to master the operation of a prior art sand wedge, it takes a special hand-eye coordination and dedication to long hours of practice. Generally, only professionals possess the necessary attributes to be somewhat successful at flying a golf ball out of a sand bunker. However, even professionals have a very difficult time coming out of a sand bunker close to the golf hole so that it makes the next shot the final shot for that hole. More often than not, even pro golfers frequently at least two putt after coming out of a sand bunker.
The golf sand wedge head of the present invention has been designed for easy penetration of the head into the sand as the club is being swung. Also, the shaft of the club has been offset so that the longitudinal center axis of the shaft of the club is located ahead of the sole of the club. The weight has been redistributed of the face of the club to create the easy entry profile into the sand and achieve a superior feeling when making of the shot. The offset shaft together with the weight moved rearward places the sweet spot spaced from the sole and from the hosel within the center of the head of the club. The offset creates a slight delay in the arrival of the head and the feeling of pulling the shot rather than pushing it and transmits an intense sensation to the golfer of the proper swing. This feeling that is transmitted to the golfer makes the sand shot in golf much easier.
A basic embodiment of the present invention utilizes a golf sand wedge head which has a hosel adapted to be fixedly mounted to a golf club shaft. The hosel has a longitudinal center axis. The hosel is fixedly connected to a body. This body has a front face for striking a golf ball in the central section of the front face and a rear face which is opposite the front face. The front face has a toe edge located furthest from the hosel and a top edge located furthest from the bottom edge of the sole of the club. The sole of the club comprises a planar bottom surface which extends to the rear face of the body. The planar bottom surface is located at a first acute angle relative to the front face and the bottom edge is offset a certain distance from the longitudinal center axis of the hosel. The front face is inclined also at an acute angle relative to the longitudinal center axis of the hosel. The rear face includes relief areas. The relief areas combine to produce a ridge which extends vertically from the bottom edge toward the top edge which weights the body so as to produce a xe2x80x9csweet spotxe2x80x9d located within the central section of the front face.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the basic embodiment is modified by the front face being planar.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the acute angle of the bottom surface to the front face being at approximately sixty degrees.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the offset being approximately 0.19 inches.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the acute angle of the front face being at approximately fifty-seven degrees.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the relief areas being defined as a first relief area, a second relief area and a third relief area with the first relief area being deepest.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the second relief area being shallowest.